Cardio, a term which is a little like marmite you either love it or hate it. It can be seen as the devil of exercise making you lose all your gains or its the be all and end all for some people. Which is why today I am going to speak about it impartially as a form of exercise and all the benefits it has. Whether its intervals, long distance, walking, running, swimming or dancing it all has it’s place in your lifestyle just make sure you do what’s right for you.
Health
Cardio stands for Cardio Vascular Fitness which means you are working your cardiovascular system so anything that gets your heart rate up is a form of cardio fitness. By doing this you will be strengthening your heart and lungs. It will also help with weight loss because you burn calories doing so, and all weight loss needs is a calorie deficit (just make sure it is done in a healthy way). As you are working your cardio vascular system it can improve your blood circulation as well as reduce the risk of heart disease. Keeping your body moving is great for overall health especially if you have quite a sedentary job, even if that is walking for 30-60 minutes a day it is better than nothing. Our bodies were made to move so lets move them, keep them more ready for all life throws at them. One of the main ones from a training point of view is the fact you become fitter, your endurance improves so you can go about your day to day life at easier.
Lifestyle
I don’t know about you but I personally find it to be a great stress reliever – head phones go in and I just move, build up a sweat and let all my problems just disappear. Which can also help people with anxiety to just move and focus on that, and it can even help clear your head. It can improve your mood because just like any other form of exercise it releases those happy hormones endorphins. All the health benefits mentioned above all add up to you being a lot more efficient and ready, which should hopefully improve your overall lifestyle. It can also help you recover better from a hard weight session, if your muscles are aching or sore just try loosening them up by going for a walk, swim or light jog nothing too impact.
For an added bonus it can also be a form of socialising whilst exercising and whats better than working out with friends ??
See cardio isn’t so bad after all 😉
Love Vicki xxx
